Winter Break

So, sometimes this full time student/full time IT goddess thing gets a little...old? Stressful? Exhausting? Frustrating? All of the above. Thankfully, as of 1:00 tomorrow afternoon, I will be on break from school for 6 1/2 weeks. Praise Jeebus. There are so many things I'm looking forward to enjoying over the span of a month and a half that I think most people take for granted. I was definitely included in that "most people" up until I went back to school last Fall.

So what things am I talking about? There are two categories: things you have to do that you normally don't notice until you don't have time to do them and things you like to do that you desperately miss when you don't have time to do them.

Under things that you have to do:

Getting gas. This actually has nothing to do with the price of gas. Yeah, it's a little high right now, but I don't really care. It's still not as high as it was 2 years ago. What I do hate about it, is the 3-5 minutes it takes to pull into a gas station and fill up the tank. I know that seems absurd, but when all you want so desperately to do is get home and go to bed, those 3-5 minutes are an eternity. This is why I never get around to filling my tank until the low fuel light comes on.

Getting groceries. I know. We all have to eat, but it is SO much easier to roll through a drive-thru while not having to vacate my heated driver's seat than it is to go into a store, push a cart around, and dodge housewives and their rugrats. I actually kinda hate this. I don't like eating out all the time. I actually do like to eat relatively healthy because I don't like being fat. See the letter to myself. But this also ties in with the next one.

All manner of cleaning - dishes, vacuuming, laundry, etc. So, duh. Nobody likes to clean, but here's the thing...I think it actually sucks more when you WANT to clean because your home is such a mess, but you just don't have the time and/or energy to do it. I hate walking into a kitchen full of dishes. We have a beautiful kitchen, and it depresses me to see it a mess, but inevitably, the need to sleep always wins out over the need to clean. Speaking of clean...

Showering. Before you jump to conclusions, I'm not one of those nasty people that doesn't shower for days. I still shower regularly, but this is another one of those things that I have to force myself to do because I usually only get time to do it right before I go to bed or right after I get up which means I am sacrificing sleep to shower. If I could have a magic shower that keeps me clean and stink free with only one shower a week, I'd be fit as a fiddle.

Now, onto the things I like to do:

Chillin. This is very broad. It can include blogging, watching tv, listening to music, playing video games, reading, petting the kitties, or even just sitting still. Part of the reason I just sat and stared at my cat yesterday when I couldn't sleep was just because I could. No homework to do. No test to study for. No 17 hour day ahead of me like the previous 10 weeks.

Cooking. I like to cook...when I have the time, energy, and clean kitchen for it. I like having home cooked meals instead of crap from the drive-thru or even just things quickly put together like a sandwich or a hot dog. I like real meals.

Working out. Ok, saying I like to work out is a stretch, but I do like to not feel like a big bucket of blubber. I tried doing it during the quarter, but it was just too much.

So those are just a few of the things that I'm really looking forward to enjoying on a regular basis over my Winter Break. Hopefully, 2 years from now, I'll be enjoying them on a more permanent basis when I'm done with school.

And now, I must go watch the bestest show ever to grace American television - Chuck.